Betrayed In The Harsh Dead Of Winter
by Lectra
Summary: When Beatrix is wrongly accused for the murder of Queen Garnet, and must find a way out of Alexandria when everyone she knows is turned against her. Unknown Dragon helped, and THE SECOND CHAPTER IS FINALLY UP! YAAY! ^.^
1. Escape

Author's Note: By Roswellgirl13 and Unknown Dragon, who's too lazy to write her own stories, just kidding! The new chapter of the new Dancing Dragon should come out "soon". *Yells to Unknown Dragon* Stop hitting your head like that! Your writers block will be over soon! I don't own Final Fantasy, because we're just two beautiful annoying wacko's who love the game. *Watches Unknown Dragon sits in the background listening to her FF10 MP3's while trying to learn how to play 'Blitz ball', then realizes she can't swim, and decides to stick to 'Triple Triad'.* (Sigh.) I'm sorry you had to see that. *Unknown Dragon holds up a butter knife with red nail polish on it and yells, SHOCK!* Hey! That's my nail polish! Give it back! Anyways, here's the story...  
  
Beatrix walked down the abandoned streets of Alexandria, staying in the shadows of the night and careful not to make any noises that might attract unwanted attention. She pulled her coat collar up around her neck, trying to warm herself as a chill winter's wind crept down her back, chilling her down to her bones. Beatrix pushed her hair away from her face impatiently as she searched the streets for a place to rest for the night. She sighed as she came across a small shack and decided to spend the night there. It was a tiny thing, only about three feet tall by five feet long, and looked as if it had been used for a childs fort at one point. The old building creaked and threatened to cave in on her as she crawled in it and sat shivering on it's damp dirt floor.  
"So this is what it's come to." She said to herself. "Running from the very people that swore to protect me and sleeping in a child's fort." Beatrix said the last words with disdain, she could not believe that she, the great General Beatrix of Alexandria, was no longer welcome in her own city. Footsteps and loud shouts were heard coming from down the street as two soldiers made their rounds, searching, no doubt, for Beatrix. Light seeped through the gaps in the boards and flooded the small structure as one of the soldiers stopped in front of Beatrix's hideaway to talk to her companion, holding a small torch. Beatrix tensed and prayed that they wouldn't discover her.  
"We've combed every inch of this street, and we still can't find her. I don't care what Zidane said, she's just not here. Let's try somewhere else." The other soldier raised her voice.  
"I don't care what you think we should do. Our orders are to find General Beatrix and bring her to Zidane."   
The soldier angrily thrust her sword through the child's fort, narrowly missing Beatrix. Beatrix moved backwards, hitting the side of the fort and causing it to collapse on her, getting the guard's attention. She threw aside the broken bits of wood and scrambled to her feet, trying to run away as one of the guards called out a warning.  
"WE'VE FOUND HER!" They ran after her, leaping over the pile of rotting wood and pursuing her as she ran down the dark alley, attempting to lose them. She climbed on top of a house and jumped off the other side, collapsing in an alley, barely absorbing the shock, and twisting her ankle in doing so. She propped herself up against the building's wall in the shadows, in her current position the soldiers were not able to see her. She could see them standing on the roof, out of breath and looking for her.  
"She's not here, we lost her." The soldier let loose a slew of vile words, furious that they had come so close to capturing her.  
"Let's go." She said angrily. "We'll get more knights out here and search this area more thoroughly once we report to King Zidane. He won't be happy." Beatrix sighed in relief as they left, and let her mind think about the past few day's events.  
It had all started two days ago, when Queen Garnet summoned her to her room.  
"Beatrix, I have come to a decision. In the unlikely event that I should become unable to rule, and their is no other heir to the throne, you shall take my place." Beatrix didn't take it to seriously, since it wouldn't be more then a year until her and Zidane became married, making Zidane king. A couple nights later, Beatrix woke with a strange feeling that she had felt only once before, the night King Til Alexandria was murdered. She instantly knew that something was wrong, and rushed to Queen Garnet's room to find the Queen laying in a pool of her own blood. A large cloaked figure was standing over her, holding a bloody dagger. Before she could get a good look at her murderer, they threw the dagger at Beatrix. She caught it inches from her body; it was covered in crimson blood that fell on her coat. The murderer leaped out of the window, escaping on a chocobo. At that moment the door to her room flew open, and there stood Zidane, pale and devasated from the scene before him. He glanced down at the bloody dagger in Beatrix's hand, and his eyes narrowed.  
"You killed her, you bitch!" Zidane screamed at Beatrix. She stood in shock.  
"I would never do such a thing to her, I just got here!" But before she had time to explain why the dagger was in her hands, the guards already had her by the arms and were dragging her to the dungeon by Zidane's orders. The next day, there was a trial at which Beatrix lost, due to no evidence of her innocence other then her word...  
She heard the clanking of amour, and soon found herself pinned to the ground with a sword held to her neck.   
"Steiner!" Beatrix cried, unable to grasp the fact that she had been attacked by the one she loved. Steiner looked hesitant to bring her back to the castle, and took his sword from her neck, helping her to get up. Beatrix flinched as she put weight on her twisted ankle. She could no longer run, she had been caught.  
"Steiner, you don't want to do this, please." She begged.  
"Why did you kill Queen Garnet?" Steiner said, keeping a firm grip on her wrist so that she could not escape. His hand was shaking, as if his heart said something different from his orders.  
"I didn't, someone else did." Beatrix explained what she had seen that night. Steiner's expression softened, and his grip on her arm loosened slightly.   
"My orders are to bring you in, even if you are innocent..." Beatrix looked at Steiner carefully, his face was a mess of compassion for Beatrix and loyalty to Alexandria and Zidane.   
"Steiner..."She began. "You've got to believe me. I'm innocent. I don't know who murdered Garnet, but it wasn't me. You have to believe me. You're the only one I can trust at a time like this..." Steiner looked at her hard. Finally he let go of Beatrix's arm. He sighed.  
"I'm going with you." Beatrix smiled, then nodded. They turned and walked down the frigid streets of Alexandria.   
"So how did you escape from the dungeon?" asked Steiner.  
"Well, it was pretty easy, considering the fact that I know this city, and it's buildings, better then anyone in Alexandria." She grinned, and Steiner grinned back. It felt nice to have someone on her side again, someone who she could trust...Footsteps were heard, and Beatrix pulled Steiner into a dark alley as three of Beatrix's knights ran past.  
"They're searching for me again..." Beatrix said, glaring at them while they disappeared into the misty night. It got particularly cold, and dark clouds began to cover the winter's sky.  
"It's going to snow soon. And I need to get out of Alexandria before I'm caught again." Steiner nodded, and a light went on in his head.  
"I have a friend who has a cart that we can use to smuggle you out of the city." Beatrix agreed, and they started to walk down the street towards his friend's house.   
"So...how exactly are you going to get me out of here?" Beatrix asked, leaning on Steiner's shoulder for assistance.   
"Uh, um, well.." Steiner stuttered as he racked his brain for another idea. "I could dress as a merchant and smuggle you out of the city under a load of goods." They reached Steiner's friends house, and Beatrix waited in a dark alley behind a large cart, which she assumed would be the one she would be riding in. Meanwhile, Steiner was inside, negotiating for the cart.  
"So, why exactly do you need to borrow my cart? Is it for a woman?" His friend said with a sly grin. Steiner blushed.  
"Technically, yes, but it's very important."  
"I'll bet it is." Steiner's friend chuckled. Steiner glared at him. "Fine, you can use the cart, I need a delivery made to Treno anyways." Steiner thanked his friend, and hitched his chocobo up to the large cart Beatrix was hiding behind. Beatrix hopped in the cart, and hid underneath a layer of goods, it was heavy and stuffy, but if it would get her out of Alexandria, she was willing to do it. Steiner threw a large tarp over the goods, just in case, and they rode off. They approached the gates of the city, and the guard stopped them.  
"Where are you taking these goods?" She demanded.  
"Treno." Steiner replied quickly. The guard poked around in the cart slightly, then motioned for him to continue on. When they were about a mile away from Alexandria, Steiner stopped to let Beatrix out. She gasped for fresh air, then dusted herself off and climbed down.  
"Thank you for taking me his far. I don't think I could have made it this far without you." Beatrix gave Steiner a quick kiss on the cheek, then started to limp off on her twisted ankle. A pang of guilt hit Steiner, he couldn't let her travel like that.  
"Beatrix, wait!" Steiner called out. He hopped off the cart and ran over to her.   
"I can't let you travel with a twisted ankle. I'm coming with you." Beatrix protested a little, but somehow, Steiner won the argument. He picked her up and set her gently towards the front of the cart where there weren't any goods. Then he climbed on himself and they started on their journey to Treno. A bit into the ride, Beatrix started up a conversation.  
"Why did you decide to help me, instead of following your orders?" She asked. "You know that you could be put to death for doing so." Steiner blushed.   
"Well, uh, um, youdothatkindofthingforpeopleyoulove." He spat out, then realized what he had just said. Beatrix was flattered.  
"If I could stand, I would hug you right now." Beatrix replied smoothly. Steiner's face turned to crimson red, and he tried desperately to focus on leading the chocobo before he ran them off a cliff.   
"It'll take three or four days to reach Treno, so we better get moving." He said, changing the subject before his face got any redder.  
  
  



	2. Treno

Author's Note: Once again, I don't own the FF characters or anything, I just enjoy thinking up 'what if' stories about stuff I like. Unknown Dragon helped, she's trying to balance a spoon on her nose...DON'T EAT THAT! UNKNOWN, PUT IT DOWN, PUT IT-Oh noo…Unknown, put that back on the floor! No-You put THAT in your mouth, and you use THIS to scrub the floor with...*sigh* Excuse me...UNKNOWN! PUT MY LIPSTICK DOWN! NO! YOU DO NOT. EAT. THE. CAT! UNKNOWN! * A cats' 'rrooooow' is heard and a bright orange streak runs across the screen*   
  
Chapter 2 Treno  
As the hours passed and night approached, Beatrix thought about her conversation with Steiner. Did he really smuggle her out of the city because he loved her? Or did he just want to turn her in to some bounty hunter? Beatrix sighed. She was tired, bored, and her ankle was quickly swelling from all the walking she had done that day. Steiner was humming an unrecognizable tune while he guided the chocobo through the windy mountain paths. The air was deliciously cold, and Beatrix soon fell asleep to the humming of Steiner and the methodical rocking of the produce cart.  
Next morning, she awoke to see Steiner curled up on the cart seat, snoring softly. They were parked under a large fir tree in the middle of a small valley surrounded by mountains on all sides, the trees' branches being weighed down by snow from the previous night. Beatrix threw off the tarp and yawned. She waited for a few minutes for Steiner to wake up, and then grew impatient. She reached up and pulled one of the tree's lower branches down, sending the snow plummeting down on the poor unsuspecting knight. Steiner awoke with a start, and, after some grumbling on his part, they started off once more. The going was slow, and sometimes the cart would get stuck in the snow, or the chocobo would refuse to go any further. On these occasions, Beatrix sat in the cart and talked to Steiner while he attempted to "fix" the problem.  
"So what exactly do we plan to do once we actually reach Treno?"   
"Well, uh, I know of some people there who might be able to help us figure out who killed Queen Garnet, and then, um, well, you know." Steiner's lack of plan worried her.  
"Relax, it'll turn out okay in the end. Just trust me." He finished fixing the cart and leaned over the edge and gave her an awkward little hug. His armor rattled as he wrapped his arms around her, and for the first time in a long while, Beatrix felt safe.  
He smiled at her, then backed away and climbed into the cart. She fancied she heard the faintest of sounds rustling in the topmost branches of the fir, and whipped around to see what it was. It was only the wind, but her moment of paranoia resulted in knocking over a bag of tiny seeds that fell on her coat and clung stubbornly to the fabric. Beatrix took off her coat and shook it out, only sending a few seeds fleeing from it. She was going to pick the remaining seeds off, but as she shook, a sharp metal object fell out of it and clattered to the cart's floor. Beatrix paled as she realized that it was the dagger that Queen Garnet's murderer had thrown at her the night of her capture. Beatrix picked it up and scraped off some of the dried blood that had become encrusted onto it. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't shake the image of Garnet's bloody body lying on the cold castle floor, at the mercy of her killer. She could just imagine Garnet's last moments alive, sleeping peacefully in her bed, oblivious to her eminent danger. Or worse, pleading for her life, her eyes full of tears and her face full of horror as the knife was raised by a hand with no owner, then her horror being quickly replaced by pain as the knife slashed across her tender stomach…Beatrix shuddered as she thought about it and ran her finger along the dagger's side. She winced as the dagger slipped and cut her finger; a small drop of crimson blood formed and Beatrix stuck it in her mouth and sucked on it to slow the bleeding. Steiner turned around and noticed the knife in her hand.   
"What's that? Did you cut yourself?" He asked, slightly panicked and eyeing the dagger doubtfully.  
"A dagger." Beatrix replied, avoiding the question.  
"From what?"  
"From Queen Garnet's murder..." Steiner became quiet.  
"...Oh...I see." Beatrix turned around as much as she could without hurting her foot and watched the scenery slip by.   
The hours rolled by, and eventually night came on. Beatrix fell asleep once more, and had unsettling dreams. She kept on being placed in the murderer's body, filled with an unquenchable thirst to kill, the desire to see the Queen's blood staining the carpet, sneering and watching her next victim's face become filled with terror. Now she had control of who lived or died, now it was the Queen who was groveling at her feet, no longer was Beatrix subjected to obeying this child's whims with the petty loyalty of a dog to it's master. Soon she would no longer bow down to this spoiled child… The next day was pretty much the same as the first two, except that the snow was deeper here and they had to stop often so Steiner could dig a path out through the drifts that piled up and blocked the paths. They rode clear on through morning and finally reached Treno. Beatrix slid under the tarp for protection as they entered the city and drove through the windy, crowded streets. Bitter smells filled Beatrix's nostrils, and she slipped further under the tarp to the bottom of the cart, partly for more protection, but more so to escape the horrid smells that made her eyes water. All of the sudden, the cart came to a stop, and Beatrix could feel it shift as Steiner climbed out. He walked over to where she hiding and whispered to her, pretending to take inventory.  
"I'm outside of The Drunk Knight, I think-" He was interrupted by a sharp whisper from Beatrix.  
"Steiner! This is NOT the time! My life is hanging in the balance, and all you can think about is getting hammered! I think we should be concentrating on more important things right about now!" Steiner glared at her from above the tarp.  
"I was going to say that I think I might be able to get some leads on Queen's murderer in here, this place is pretty well known by thief's and the like." He stopped. "And…if I decide to get a small drink while I'm here, what of it?" Beatrix grew livid.   
'WHAT OF IT?! I'LL TELL YOU WHAT OF IT! YOU-" Her battle cry was interrupted by a large metal hand clamping over her mouth. She attempted to bite his hand through the metal glove, blinded of logic from her anger. Steiner sighed and pulled his hand away, he didn't understand women… Before Beatrix could say anything, he hurried off, leaving Beatrix squeezed in between two jars of beets.   
Steiner walked into the bar casually, trying to blend in with the shifty looking crowd. Nearly everyone was dressed in dark cloaks and boots, Steiner stuck out like a sore thumb, and he knew it. He ordered a drink and scanned the room for someone that might know some information about the queen's death, and soon two particular characters caught his eye. They were genomes, and somehow reminded Steiner of Zidane. He grabbed his beer and seated himself at a nearby table, eavesdropping on their conversation while he sipped his drink. But they were just boasting about the most expensive things they had stolen in their pasts. He sighed and moved to another table, this time two black mages being his victims. Still nothing. He soon drained his beer and ordered another, going from table to table, with creature after creature, being after being, until he finally gave up, and started to walk out the door. He was on his fifth drink when he heard the word 'Alexandria' mentioned. There, in a far corner of the bar, three humans sat hunched over quietly talking amongst themselves. Steiner leaned against a wall and tried to look casual, wishing that he had oiled his amour more often; it was rather hard to be inconspicuous with his clanking metal suit.   
"Have you heard about Alexandria?" One of them was saying. He had a long clean-shaven face with an odd sort of lopsided hat on. The other two shook their heads, clearly bored by the man with the funny hat.  
" I heard that the Queen was killed. By her OWN GENERAL." He paused a moment for impact. Seeing none, he cleared his throat a bit and continued to boast about his limited knowledge of the situation.  
"They say the king found her murderer with the bloody dagger in her hands laughing like a maniac, and that she had an evil twitch in her eye." Steiner struggled to keep his temper under control. It was a losing battle. The man went on;   
"They say she escaped by taking down three more of her own guards, and that she did it as easily as if she were slicing bread. I tell you, none of us are safe until we kill that bitch…although I can't blame her for wanting to bump off the queen, she was about as brave as a chocobo, and about as smart as one too, from what I hear." The man sniggered, and finally, Steiner snapped.  
"BEATRIX WOULD NEVER DO THAT!" He thundered, slamming his fist on the table and nearly breaking it, not to mention spilling the men's' beers. They grew livid.  
"SHE'S THE BEST PERSON I KNOW! SHE NEVER KILLED QUEEN GARNET! SHE TREATED HER LIKE SHE WAS HER OWN CHILD! MY GOD, DO YOU PEOPLE BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU HEAR?!" The bar grew silent as the clean-shaven mans' eyes grew fiery, and it was at that point that Steiner realized his mistake. The three men stood up and walked up to Steiner. They were taller then Steiner had first thought. Steiner was still bigger by them, but not by much, and it was clear that he couldn't take the three on by himself. He swallowed hard.  
"Are you saying that I don't know what I'm talking about?" The man asked, glaring up at Steiner.  
"Um…Well, no....not exactly, I'm just saying...that you should, you know, um, listen more carefully before you...judge, um, because it could get you into…trouble…." Steiner backed away as his sweaty hand automatically inched towards his sword. Suddenly, he changed his mind, turned, and ran as fast as he could out of the bar. He flung the reigns over the chocobo's head, leapt into the seat, and whipped the reigns hard on it. As the cart shot off, Beatrix climbed out from under the tarp and stared at Steiner and the three men running behind them in disbelief.  
"What the hell did you do?" She demanded, pushing her hair out of her face as it whipped about wildly.   
"Hat man...The rumors are getting worse...too much to drink…have to go." Steiner panted. Beatrix raised an eyebrow.  
"You're saying that you picked a fight with them because about what they were saying about me?" Steiner nodded, and then whipped the chocobo harder. The men were falling far behind, and eventually they turned around and walked back to the bar, muttering and cursing. The chocobo slowed to a walk through the city's eternal night.  
Eventually they came to a small, slightly weathered building with large rectangular windows. A red oval door stood beneath a weathered sign reading "Carmella's". Steiner hopped off the cart and went inside, he soon came out again grinning and holding a large old-fashioned key with the numbers 124 on it.  
"I got us a hotel room! It was really cheap, too. The lady there was really nice. Kinda smoky, though. But it has piano music that echo's all through the hotel! It's great. Our room is upstairs." Beatrix was skeptical.   
"Steiner?"  
"Yes?"  
"This..room you've acquired...it has two beds, right?"  
"Yeah, of course it does! I asked the woman, and she said it has a double bed." Beatrix sighed and helped Steiner put the cart in a small stable attached to the south side of the building. Beatrix opened the door to the Inn and it was as Steiner had said. It was very smoky, and the energetic sound of a piano being played was heard echoing through the entire building. There was a large counter at the front of the room, behind which held a well built woman with a rather tight dark blue dress on which accentuated her milky brown eyes. She had long curly blonde hair, which was put into a loose bun on the top of her head. She winked at Steiner as they passed her, and Beatrix took Steiner by the arm and kissed him on the cheek. The woman showed no sign of disappointment; instead, she just called out to Steiner.  
"Be sure ta have a good tame in you're rhum, now. Ih'm Carmella, just gimme a call if ya'll need anything, now." She winked, and had a thick accent that made Beatrix even more uncomfortable; Steiner just grinned and nodded as he showed Beatrix upstairs.  
"See? Isn't she nice?" Beatrix just nodded abruptly and they walked up the stairs, (Beatrix with some difficulty) and went down the hall to the room labeled 124. Steiner had some difficulty opening the rusty door, but finally he managed, and the door swung open. Beatrix drew her breath in sharply. The entire room had somehow managed to be some shade of red, from the brick red walls, to the soft pink lampshade in the corner, to the red and white tie-dyed plush rug. There was a pair of thick curtains that covered the window that overlooked the stables nest to the bright red bed with satin sheets. The bed.   
"...It's certainly.... a big...red..room...with one bed..." Beatrix coughed. The room was hot as well, partially from a big fire that blazed in the hearth on the far side of the room in front of a comfy looking couch; but also from the heat and smoke that emanated from the base floor of the Inn. Steiner was taken aback.   
"But she said it was a double bed." He spluttered. Beatrix felt sorry for him. His intentions were good, but he just placed his trust in the wrong hands too many times. She put a hand on his arm.  
"I think she meant it was a double size. Not two beds. But it's okay, I'll just...sleep on the couch." She winced inside, she was not looking foreword to sleeping next to a huge fire, it would probably burn her alive it was so close to the couch.  
"No." Steiner shook his head. "I made the mistake, I'll sleep on the couch. Besides, you're the lady here, and you've got a twisted ankle, you deserve to sleep on the bed." Beatrix smiled. Maybe chivalry wasn't dead just yet. She kissed him and took off her boots as she plopped down on the bed. Steiner went into the bathroom to take off his armor and put on some pajamas. Beatrix wondered how he managed to sneak some nightclothes out of Alexandria. A pang of guilt and homesickness overcame her as she thought about her hometown. She missed it so much, she would almost be glad to see Admerant, or even Zidane again. The bed was soft, and the satin sheets felt cool against her hot skin. She began to feel sleepy, but a strange smell was coming from the bed, and she put her shoes back on.   
"I'm going downstairs to see if they have a bar, I need something to make these colors tone down before I can get some sleep. Wanna come?" But Steiner was already sound asleep on the couch, his armor off and his body splayed about on the couch. Beatrix smiled, he was a sweetie, and she loved him. She took one last look at him before grabbing the key to the room and walking out the door. She nearly fell down the stairs in the attempt to climb down without using her left foot. She finally got down all three flights of stairs and hobbled over to Carmella with as much dignity as she could muster, which was a surprising amount.  
"Where's the bar?" She demanded. Carmella smiled, a perfect smile with rows of pearly white teeth.   
"Rhight in the back, hon." She flashed that smile again, and Beatrix felt sick. She followed the direction that Carmella pointed and soon found what she sought. It was the same color red as the walls in her room, but the walls were turning a dull red from tar stains and smoke; much to Beatrix's joy. There was a piano in the back, someone was playing a fast, upbeat, almost can-can-ish tune. Women were dancing around in short skirts and tight dresses; similar to the one that Carmella was wearing. Beatrix went up to the bar on the far side of the room and ordered a large beer. She had just found a nice relatively quiet corner away from both the piano and the dancers, and was settling down to take a nice long drink, when she felt a hand slap down on her shoulder. Beatrix jumped a mile, spilling her drink all over her coat. She let loose a horde of vile words, and turned around to yell at the person who had the gall to do such a thing. She nearly fell over in surprise. There, a tall female knight with long black hair and blue eyes stood staring down at Beatrix with laughing eyes. Her armor was that of Alexandria.  
"Mara!" Beatrix cried, filled with relief and joy, her anger and suspicion melting away.  
"I was hoping to find you here. When I heard about Steiner going off like that at The Drunken Knight, I was worried that someone else might find you before I did." The woman smiled down at Beatrix. Beatrix got up and gave her best friend a large hug, Mara started slightly.  
"I can't believe it!" Beatrix rambled. "I mean, you, here! Of all places! How did you know I was here? I thought-are you here with a guy?" Mara grinned.  
"Nope. I was hoping that you and I could talk, I haven't seen you since they took you away for…" Mara trailed off, unsure of how to approach the delicate subject.   
"I didn't do it, Mara, you know I didn't." Mara nodded, then put her arm around Beatrix's shoulder.   
"Let's go talk. I need to talk to you about something." Beatrix nodded, and they left the bar, laughing and talking about the goings on since Beatrix had left Alexandria. Carmella grinned at Beatrix and winked as she checked in another customer, this time a loud stuttering drunk that could barely do anything but cling to the counter and utter two words, 'room *hic* NOW.' Beatrix and Mara raised an eyebrow as they watched Carmella talk to the drunk as if he was perfectly sober, in that same flirty way of hers and he somehow seemed to understand every word she uttered.  
Mara was already halfway up the stairs before she noticed Beatrix dragging herself up, inch by inch. Her ankle had now doubled from the walking and stress that had been put on it. Mara ran down the stairs, and helped Beatrix up, her questioning eyes gazing at Beatrix.   
"Talk later, help me up." Mara nodded, then helped Beatrix up the stairs. Beatrix opened the door to their room, and Mara had pretty much the same reaction Beatrix did upon first encounter.  
"Now I see why you needed that drink." She said, observing the colorful room. Beatrix nodded, then motioned for her to sit in one of the few chairs in the room. Mara pulled it next to the bed, and Beatrix began her tale of her escape from the Alexandrian guards, about Steiner, and her ankle. Mara nodded in the right places, grinned when she learned about the snow on Steiner, and sniggered with Beatrix as they herd Steiner mutter something about wanting his 'pookie bear'.   
"Now," Beatrix said, becoming somber and finishing her story. "What brings you here?" Mara sobered as well.  
"When I heard about the queen and you, I knew it just couldn't be you. So I convinced Zidane that I was going to go and find you and then bring you back here, or, as he suggested, beat you senseless and then bring you in to him." Mara noticed the slightly concerned look on Beatrix's face and laughed quietly, careful not to wake up Steiner.  
"Don't worry, if I was going to bring you in to king Zidane, don't you think I would already have done it by now?" Beatrix relaxed and let a small smile escape.  
"Anyways, I told Zidane that that was what I was going to do, and that I needed to do this alone, so that I could track you more easily. He agreed, eager to let me find the woman that he thought murdered his bride." Mara grinned darkly. "His eagerness was his own undoing. He gave me everything that I could wish for to find you, food, clothing, and even some of you most prized possessions." Mara pulled out a picture of Steiner and Beatrix on the day of Queen Garnet's inauguration. They were smiling in front of the castle, Beatrix leaning on Steiner with one arm, and resting her wrist on her sword 'Save The Queen' with the other. Steiner was looking behind Beatrix and glaring at Zidane and Garnet, who were too busy kissing to notice Steiner's death stare. Beatrix laughed, then stopped as the pang of guilt hit her again as she thought about Garnet, Zidane, and Alexandria. Mara put a hand on Beatrix's shoulder.  
"You'll see them again." She sympathized. Beatrix nodded.  
"I know," She agreed. "But will we be on good terms…?" 


End file.
